A’S MAKE SPLASH IN FREE AGENCY
Oakland to sign closer Rosenthal, first baseman/designated hitter Moreland
A day after San Diego signed Fernando Tatis Jr. to a record $340 million contract, the Oakland A’s swooped in Thursday to grab a pair of free agents the Padres discarded by reportedly acquiring closer Trevor Rosenthal and designated hitter Mitch Moreland to one-year deals.
The hard-throwing Rosenthal, who enjoyed a rebirth with the Padres and Royals last season, will sign a one-year, $11 million deal, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Rosenthal, 30, would replace Liam Hendriks as the A’s new closer.
Meanwhile, Oakland reportedly also agreed to a one-year deal with Moreland, a veteran free-agent designated hitter/first baseman. Moreland, 35, is a longtime Oakland nemesis whose potent left-handed bat makes him an attractive designated hitter option.
Moreland’s deal first was reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Moreland will earn $2.25 million plus incentives, according to
ESPN.
Rosenthal’s signing provides relief for a team that leaned on the bullpen to win the AL West title last season. The A’s had lost All-Star closer Hendriks to the Chicago White Sox and setup man Joakim Soria to the Arizona Diamondbacks in free agency.
Rosenthal, who has a 98 mph fastball and a newly developed wipeout slider, will be the new closer. His presence improves Oakland’s setup situation with left-handers Jake Diekman, Adam Kolarek and A.J. Puk, as well as right-handers Sergio Romo, Lou Trivino, Burch Smith and Yusmeiro Petit.
Rosenthal was one of baseball’s top closers in St. Louis from 2014-15 before suffering from health issues. Most notably, he had Tommy John reconstruction elbow surgery that forced him to the 2018 season. Rosenthal signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Washington Nationals in 2019. But the Nationals released him later that season.
Rosenthal regained his dominant fastball to go along with a slider last year to enjoy a big season with Kansas City and San Diego. He became the Padres’ closer after being acquired
in a trade and he had a huge run in San Diego — in nine innings over 10 games, he allowed no earned runs and three hits while striking out 17 and walking one.
Overall in 2020, Rosenthal had a 1.90 ERA, 0.845 WHIP and 11 saves in 12 games.
At $11 million, Rosenthal is set to earn the highest single-season salary of any reliever in Oakland A’s history. He’ll eclipse the forgettable $10 million, oneyear deal Jim Johnson received during his disastrous 2014 season. By comparison, the last two A’s closers (Hendriks, Blake Treinen) earned a combined $11.7 million in their final seasons
in Oakland.
With spring training beginning this week, the designated hitter position is one of the few question marks in the A’s everyday lineup after they dealt Khris Davis to Texas two weeks ago for shortstop Elvis Andrus. Moreland, who has become one of the baseball’s most reliable, underrated left-handed hitters, might be the solution for Oakland.
Moreland, who split time with the Boston Red Sox and Padres last season, hit 10 home runs in only 136 at-bats with a slash line of .265/.342/.551 and an .894 OPS in 2020. He has done almost all of his damage against right-handed
pitching in recent years. Last year, Moreland had a .938 OPS against righties, against whom he hit all but one of his 10 homers.
The A’s, who have enjoyed a lot of success with manager Bob Melvin’s platoon lineups over the years, could employ Moreland as their primary DH against right-handers, with Chad Pinder slotting in at DH against lefties.
If nothing else, signing Moreland rids A’s pitchers of having to deal with him. Moreland has had an OPS over 1.000 against the A’s in each of the last three full major league seasons. He has hit 22 home runs against the A’s during his 11-year career, more than any other team.
Moreland, who is a career .252 hitter with a .767 OPS, debuted with the Texas Rangers in 2010. He played the first seven years of his career in Texas before spending the last four years with the Red Sox. San Diego acquired him at the trade deadline last season.
In addition, Moreland remains a slick-fielding first baseman, making it easy for Melvin to spell Gold Glove first baseman Matt Olson, should the slugger be used at DH or need a day off. Moreland’s defensive adjustment by Fangraphs has him at a solid +21 Defensive Runs Saved. Olson, arguably the best fielding first baseman in the game, has a +40 DRS.